Woodworking blog entries tagged with 'bubinga'

Updated 1/15/12
How to make an Art Box
by Andy Campbell
Safety
Be safe! Guards, etc…may not be visible in the pictures. This is written for woodworkers of all skill levels.But, please keep in mind that this is not woodworking #101. I am writing this in a step by step manner that should be easy for a beginner to follow, but some basic understanding of tools and terminology is required.I ask that the more advanced woodworkers be patient and not be offended. I don’t wish to test your...

Hey everyone, It was suggested that I start a discussion on how to find and harvest burls. Please give your input also.
I don’t deal with straight grain that often. I cut and sell burls for a living so here is what I know.
It is illegal to harvest a burl without permission. of course if it is on your own property you can give yourself permission. What I do is put an ad on Craig’s list saying I want your burls. Most people don’t know what burls are. So you don’t get that many calls....

Until recently my lathe experience has been 50 or so pen/pencils, a few miniature goblets, and a couple small 5 inch bowls over the past few years on a Jet mini lathe, enough to want to try other lathe work. This past fall I was fortunate to have the opportunity to acquire a PM 3520B, but due to other work and priorities I’ve not had a lot of time to use it yet…and that’s “killing me”.
So this blog documents what I consider my first significant lathe project. Recently a partially segmen...

Part 3updated 1/15/12
Regarding size:Size and proportions are important…to a point. We will be building a box that will start out at 11 1/8 W x 7 D x 4 1/2 H. (After shaping it will finish out at about 10 3/4’’ x 6 3/4’’ x 3 1/8 h depending on how much shaping is done.)
I like the proportions of this box, they just look good to my eye. They are loosely based on the Golden Ratio which is a ratio of 1.618. There is much more to it than that, but simply put, here is how it works in rela...

Updated 1/16/12
I spent a lot of time developing a way to let the lid swing down into the box, yet still maintaining a fairly tight reveal on all four sidesThe difficulty is the lip itself. It doesnt allow the back of the lid to drop into the box, so thats where we need to cut it away a little deeper at the back. I call these pockets.The other difficulty is in getting the hinge placement spot on or it wont open at all or not far enough to stay open.
Here is how its done: Use the same pa...

Updated 1/15/12
The “Art Box” concept came about when I was looking for a way to use small pieces of some figured Myrtlewood I had leftover, not large enough for a box, but not something I could not throw away either. I decided to feature it in the lid of a box, like a picture in a frame.
Keep that picture frame in mind when selecting the small piece for the medallion. You might select that picture piece first and then find a less figured wood to use for the lid and body, one that sets it...

Updated 1/15/12
At this point we have a box body with corner splines.Our lid is still oversized, so we can stop here and just use it to make a traditional box,one where the lid sets on top.DO NOT CUT THE LID TO SIZE UNTIL YOU ARE SURE OF THE STYLE OF BOX YOU WANT TO MAKE!
For some, this may be the best option. They may not have all the required tools or may feel their skills need a little more honing.Or, you could leapfrog over the next few stages and pick up the project again when we d...

Updated 1/15/12
We now have our box assembled and glued up. Depending on the temperature, let it dry for a couple of hours, or overnight to be safe.Take the tape off and clean up any dried glue.
This is a good time to smooth up the bottom to get rid of any rocking.You can double stick sandpaper onto a very flat and firm surface and slide the bottom across that. The problem with this approach is that sheet sandpaper is way too small. You can stick down several sheets and if you go very s...

Updated 1/15/12
Now we need to cut a recess in the lid for the medallion to set down into.DONT cut your medallion until you have routed out the home for it.I typically make the medallion about 1” to 1.5” smaller on all sides than the lid depending on the box size and the piece of wood I have for the medallion.
We are now going to make a simple jig for a router to set on and run back and forth making several passes of incrementally deeper cuts. There are a several ways to do ...

Updated 1/16/12
This is the fun part!
Its scary too! The idea of taking a nice crisp box, one you have spent countless hours making, and attacking it with a tool designed for slag removal is…well…its a little disturbing. Maybe I was influenced by old Hitchcock movies more than I know.
Seriously, what I enjoy is the freedom this gives me. Everything up to this point has been tied to measurements and careful setups. This is where we can cut loose a little. But slow down Hot...